


Forgotten by the City

by hibiren



Series: Jay's Promptis Collection [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: (briefly) - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Awkward Conversations, Blood and Injury, Homelessness, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Injury Recovery, M/M, Movie Night, Non-Consensual Touching, One Shot, Past Violence, Pre-Relationship, Prompto is Too Nice For His Own Good, Rescue, Secrets, Sharing Clothes, Storms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 04:03:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20057707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: Prompto finds someone injured on his walk home and doesn't know what to do - so he takes the stranger home with him and learns that the city and its people aren't friendly to everyone.





	Forgotten by the City

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this started out as what I'd labeled in my draft as "Thief!Noctis AU" but it turned into a "Noctis-is-homeless-because-of-prior-relationship-abuse" AU. Finally I was able to finish something Promptis - this piece has been in the works for quite a while and I'm finally satisfied with it!

What started off as a gentle rain quickly turned to storms as the afternoon progressed. Prompto had been out for lunch, stopping by a little sandwich shop at the corner ahead of his apartment to try to wait out the weather. He sat facing the window, watching as people ran across the street while he held a warm cup of caramel-vanilla coffee in his still-shivering hands and waited for his soaked sleeves to dry.

Umbrellas bobbed back and forth along the street doing what they could to shield distressed faces from the rain. Those without held their jackets over their heads and darted from cover to cover as quickly as they could. Prompto was just thankful to be out of it, the coffee working wonders on his chilled body.

By the time he finished his drink, rays of sunlight occasionally brushed across the street and made the soaked pathways glimmer. Deciding to make a quick run for it in case the storm came back again, Prompto set his mug down and ducked out into the greying afternoon. His apartment soon came into view but a rustling sound from a nearby alley made him pause.

A gray and white cat left the alley and crossed the street in front of him. He sighed; it was just a stray, no need for concern - but another, substantially heavier rustling caught his attention. Poking his head down the alley, a shadow slumped over against the wall, partially obscured by some toppled-over boxes. More cats…? If anything he could let someone know, it wasn’t good for cats to stay out in the rain…

In front of him in the alley wasn’t cats, however; a black-haired boy, seemingly around his age, lay collapsed before him on the ground. He was soaking wet from the passed storm and covered in caked dirt freshly coming loose from the rain, his torn black shirt was barely visible under layers of grime and - was that blood?

“Hey, are you… okay?” Prompto asked, kneeling; he didn’t care that his knees became immediately soaked when he came in contact with the ground. He reached out a hand and hesitated, unsure what to do next.

The boy stirred, groaning softly as he turned over toward the sound of Prompto’s voice. One eye was bruised and swollen shut; cuts littered his cheeks and neck. He looked like whatever he’d just escaped from, he did so just barely. Prompto couldn’t just leave him here; it would be wrong. He had to do something.

A weak voice rose up from the half-conscious stranger. “Wh.. what?”

“Please be careful,” Prompto said softly, wondering if the sound of his heart pounding against his ribs was as loud as he thought. “Let me help you… my name’s Prompto. How… what happened? Did you want me to call for help?”

“No!” came the response, a wheeze of a shout, followed by a solid half-minute of coughing and agonized panting. One hand weakly rested against his heaving chest and gripped at his torn shirt, pulling the ripped neckline away from his bruised and alarmingly purple-black collarbones. After struggling to gasp a few coherent breaths as the pain subsided, he whispered, “No, don’t, please. I can’t go, I can’t… I can’t afford to.”

“...Alright. If you want, I can…”

Thunder echoed overhead, stopping Prompto midsentence. Dark gray, almost blue clouds loomed in approaching from the distance, and he knew they didn’t have much time to waste if they were to escape the next barrage of rain.

“...Take you to my apartment, get you cleaned up? Something warm to eat? Another storm’s coming. You can stay with me ‘til it’s over.”

With an uneasy chuckle, the boy slowly raised an eyebrow and did what Prompto was sure would have been an eyeroll if his face wasn’t so obscured by swelling. “What do you know? You’re just some city boy. Bet you don’t even know a thing about first-aid, huh?”

“I am - was, a lifeguard, actually,” Prompto quipped, suddenly doubting his original instinct to help in a flare of offended distaste, “at your service, Mister - uh… Mister…”

“Noctis - no, just Noct. Just get it over with. Get me out of here.”

Noctis managed to hoist himself into a sitting position before clutching at his arm, a fresh trail of red blooming down from just above his fraying sleeve. Prompto wrapped a hand slowly around Noctis’ seemingly uninjured arm and helped him to his feet. Injured hisses left Noctis accompanied by faint swearing, but eventually he managed to steady himself (with assistance) and wobble the short way past the crosswalk to Prompto’s apartment. The stairs at the second floor proved difficult so they opted for the elevator instead.

The rain started picking up as Prompto fumbled for the right key, quickly unlocking the door and leading his injured companion inside. The building rush of rain dimmed to a quiet hum, a gentle rustle against the windows.

“Bathroom’s probably the best place for this, my first aid kit’s in there,” Prompto said, cursing himself that he didn’t keep it in the kitchen like he’d thought he should have when he moved in. As they walked over, Prompto stepped ahead occasionally to kick a miscellaneous item or two out of the way (towels, clothes, etc) and helped ease Noctis down onto the edge of his bathtub.

Noctis' head fell forward, but he snapped back up as if catching himself and rubbed at his eyes with the back of a dirtstained palm while Prompto searched through his first-aid kit for what he needed. Eventually Prompto sat next to him on the closed toilet lid, pulled some gloves on, and set to work.

It took quite a while but eventually, Prompto had him bandaged as best as he could. Other than his eye; he could get some ice for that later to help with the swelling. There wasn’t too much more he could do other than offer his help and whatever dwindling supply of pain medication he kept in the cabinet. When Prompto returned with two water bottles from the kitchen, Noctis had already swallowed the two offered pills and immediately reached for the water, taking a long drink as if it were the first thing he’d had in days. The way he looked, it may have been. Prompto swore he saw the faint outlines of Noctis’ ribcage when cleaning up his stomach. When was the last time he’d eaten?

Luckily Prompto had enough forethought to bring more than one bottle of water. When the second was offered, Noctis took it and instead of drinking, rested it against his bruised eye and winced at the contact.

“Careful,” Prompto urged, “Take it easy, ‘kay? You… you don’t have to talk about what happened, but while you’re here, you don’t have to worry.”

Noctis chuckled bitterly, a frown at his lips. “Yeah, sure. You’re a real stupid city boy for inviting someone like me in when you live alone. You know I could just kill you and rob the place, right? Didn’t that occur to you? That I might be dangerous?”

“But you couldn’t do any of that - not in your current state, could you?” Prompto countered.

“Okay, point taken,” he muttered, shrugging dejectedly, as if unbothered by the severity of his prior threats. “I’ll be nice. I’d rather not get arrested anyway, it’s a huge pain. And besides, for a city boy you’re not so bad looking… I’d hate to beat up such a pretty face.”

Prompto frowned as he retraced their conversation back to an alarmingly suspicious point. “...How did you know I live alone?”

“One bedroom, small apartment; barely any furniture. Clothes everywhere. It’s kinda obvious if you know what you’re looking at,” Noctis said with a shrug, turning the water bottle over against his eye and leaning back to keep the cold condensation from dripping down his lightly shivering frame.

“Well, anyway - as I said you don’t have to worry. I can wash your clothes, if you want; you can wear some of my spare stuff in the meantime. I think we’re about the same size. Well, heightwise, at least.”

Noctis didn’t respond except for a slight shrug, but seemed glad to get out of his wet, torn clothes. He immediately reached to pull his shirt off over his head but the pain of the movement proved too much and he braced against the edge of the bathtub, letting out a faint groan between clenched teeth.

“Here, can I?” Prompto offered. He waited for Noctis’ response - a weary, defeated nod - before assisting him out of his shirt and setting it aside on the sink. “Can you get everything else? I can give you some privacy if you want; let me go get those spare clothes for you.”

“Sure.” After a smirk, Noctis added quietly, “You're too nice for your own good.”

All Prompto could find that he knew would be comfortable was an old pair of sweatpants and a navy blue t-shirt. He also picked up a pair of clean boxers and some socks (though it took a while to find two that matched) and ventured back down the hall to the bathroom. After knocking, he waited.

“Brought you some clothes,” Prompto said, setting the clothes down by the door. “I’ll leave them by the door for you.”

“...Thanks.”

The door opened only slightly and Noctis’ bandaged hand felt around the floor for the clothes and they disappeared into the bathroom one item at a time. Eventually after some sounds of a struggle on the other side of the door, Noctis awkwardly shuffled out into the hall. The shirt fit well enough, a bit baggy; although the pants were definitely big against his hips. Prompto’s solution was to quickly go back into the bedroom for a belt and Noctis fastened it into place, tucking the top band of the sweatpants over so it fit more comfortably due to the lack of belt loops.

“Better? Let me go get your clothes so I can wash them…”

Prompto picked up the discarded clothes from the bathroom and put them into his tiny washing machine, pouring in a good amount of detergent and setting it to the highest power he could. Noctis watched, an amused smirk on his bruised face.

“You want something to eat?” Prompto asked, gesturing for Noctis to sit on his tiny but comfy couch. “Let’s see, I’ve got… cereal, instant noodles, mac and cheese, frozen pizza, mostly instant stuff. I’m, uh, not much of a chef.”

“Never would have guessed.”

* * *

Noctis was hesitant in his eating, shifting in his chair at the kitchen table uncomfortably although it was apparent he wanted to devour the meager presentation before him - pizza, ice water, and some nearly-stale potato chips. Prompto ate his half of the meal in silence, chewing his food slowly and deliberately and trying not to make it obvious he was watching as Noctis raised the glass of water to his lips and drained the rest of it in a few swallows. The ice clinked as it settled when the cup returned to the table.

“Did you want anything else?” Prompto asked, suddenly wondering why the room around him felt so hot. A glance at the thermostat - no, it was still the same temperature as before. Weird.

Noctis shook his head and scooted his chair back, lazing somewhat and although he looked mildly uncomfortable, he looked significantly better off than he had when they first got home. “Thanks. For, uh. For the food. I probably should get going soon.”

“And go where? You’re still recovering from… from, uh - injuries. You really should rest! Please. You can sleep on the couch if you like. It’s not much, but it’s comfy. And your clothes! You shouldn’t leave without them.”

But Noctis only smirked as his dark hair fell into his eyes, obscuring some of the bruises. The rain drummed on outside, a quiet rhythm underlying their conversation. Noctis slowly scooted his chair closer, a hand resting threateningly, temptingly, on Prompto’s knee. “You really want me to stay, don’t you?”

“Well, if… I really think you should, at least until…”

At that moment, the washer buzzed that it finished its cycle and Prompto bolted up to attend to it, thankful for the excuse. “...Until your clothes are dry.” With care Prompto delicately switched the clothes from the washer to the dryer and placed a dryer sheet in with the clothes before closing the door and turning the drying time to one hour.

“Mm. I suppose I can stay, but, at least, let me make it worth your while.”

Noctis’ voice sounded dangerously close to Prompto’s ear, and Prompto flinched, but alarmingly strong hands forced his against the dryer which was warm and vibrating gently beneath his palms.

“I’m sure, someone like me knows how to please someone like you,” Noctis breathed, and Prompto squirmed when a hand slipped past the waist of his pants and lingered against the band of his boxers. Noctis’ chest pressed ever so lightly to his back and he was effectively trapped.

A thousand warning signs flared through Prompto’s panicking mind as Noctis’ hand inched lower, lower, a kiss planted just behind an ear, and then he opened his mouth to speak -

“Wait!!” Prompto gasped, struggling to free his hands and push Noctis off. “Wait, please. Don’t. I’m, uh… please. Just don’t.” He couldn’t really get much else out past the solid, distracting hammering of his heartbeat against his ribs. The trembling that vibrated through his body. “I don’t want that. If you think that’s how you can… uh… ‘make it up’ to me, please… please don’t. I don’t want that out of this. I’d rather… get to know you first. Shouldn't anyone?”

“Your loss, y'know, but, alright.” Noctis shrugged and peeled himself away. He looked almost mournful as he added, “Not like I can pay you any other way. You'd be the first to refuse. Nobody else had a problem at least getting a free blow out of it. My ex especially.”

Prompto sighed heavily. Unable to stand much longer, he collapsed against the front side of the dryer and rested his hands in his lap. Noctis chuckled and joined him, but lingered some distance away this time.

“You’ve really had a bad life, if all people want out of you is your body…” Prompto mused, but realized his comment must have come across as insensitive when Noctis frowned. “That’s really awful.”

“That’s one way to put it, yeah. I mean, we were long term, but it’s not like I had a choice. He told me, if I didn’t have a job, letting him fuck me whenever he wanted was the least I could do. Who’d hire a guy like me anyway? I really don’t look like the kind of person anyone would want even taking their order at a drive-thru.” Noctis leaned on the wall opposite Prompto, wincing lightly. “I don’t wanna go on too much about it, I’m far away from him now. Safer.”

“You didn’t call the police?”

Noctis almost laughed, but caught himself. “On him? No way. Cops don’t care, two men fighting it out are just boys being boys. You can’t exactly tell them it’s because of relationship abuse. They’d just turn and walk out.”

“Yeah, I… guess you’re right about that.” Prompto frowned. “It’s why I had to leave my last job. Lifeguard job, I mean. Word got out that I, uh, liked men - and they pushed me out because they didn’t want any poolgoers deterred by my ‘rampant homosexuality’ or, whatever.”

They sat in relative silence after that, as the dryer thunked rhythmically against Prompto’s back. It mirrored the sound of the rain outside. Noctis opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, and repeated this a few times before finally saying softly,

“You don’t mind having me around, do you? I promise I won’t try to do anything to you anymore, if it makes you that uncomfortable. I should’ve thought more about that. I’ll make up your kindness some other way. Maybe when I’m healed a little more I can help you straighten this place up.”

“I’d… I’d like that. My couch is yours, still, if you want to stick around. I don’t think this rain’s gonna let up any time soon. That, and you’ll at least be safe here. If you promise not to do anything bad to me or my apartment, I’ll let you stay. That’s all I ask.”

“Don't tell anyone it's me if they find out I'm here, and you've got a deal. You really are too nice for your own good, but I think I’m okay with that.”

They exchanged weary smiles, and Prompto stood to wander off to the hallway closet he kept his towels and spare blankets in. “I can get you some blankets and pillows to set up for the night. I, uh, don’t have cable, but I’ve got plenty of movies if you want to watch one to help pass the time ‘til your clothes are dry.”

Noctis made himself right at home bundled up on Prompto’s couch, just his head poking out from the heavy blanket draped over his head and around his shoulders. He idly reached toward the bowl of offered popcorn that Prompto had made before setting up the movie - he stuck one piece in his mouth at a time and chewed slowly, seemingly more interested in the popcorn than the TV.

Over time Prompto too found himself disinterested in the movie. He noticed the way Noctis shivered, exhausted, beneath the blanket despite its thick fluff and frowned, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he reached over, tucked the blankets between Noctis’ legs and the couch, and gently patted his leg once he’d finished.

“Hm?” asked Noctis, blinking sleepily. He reached up with a blanket-covered palm and rubbed at his face.

“Nothing, sorry. You wanna get some sleep? You look pretty tired. We can save the rest of the movie for tomorrow.” Prompto shrugged, smiled awkwardly, and hit ‘pause’ on the TV remote. The screen froze, but left a glow through the room. He would have continued rambling about what to do tomorrow, but Noctis had already fallen asleep, his black hair a messy tuft beneath the blankets as he slipped down to rest his head against the couch’s arm. With a glance at the clock, Prompto realized he should get some sleep as well, and wandered off toward his bedroom. After going in, he paused.

Prompto returned to the living room several minutes later with pillows and blankets in hand. He set up a little camping spot on the floor, a nest of fabric and pillows, and settled into it. Just in case Noctis needed something, Prompto told himself; but maybe it was also to avoid his own lingering loneliness. Tomorrow, they had a lot more talking to do, but it could wait. In the end, Prompto was just happy to not spend the night alone, even if the whole encounter was a story that likely no one would believe.

**Author's Note:**

> I think this is my first time tackling these concepts in fandom writing so I hope I did okay! I'm not really sure where this AU idea came from but I really think it turned out alright?


End file.
